Reinscribing the Lived Body: A Qualitative Study of Extraordinary Religious Healing Experiences in Norwegian Contexts

Religions

Tormod Kleiven¹  Anne Austad²  MarianneRodriguez Nygaard² 

[1] Centre of Diaconia and Professional Practice, VID Specialized University, 0319 Oslo, Norway;Faculty of Theology, Diaconia and Leadership Studies, VID Specialized University, 0319 Oslo, Norway;

关键词: religious healing;    extraordinary experiences;    lived body;    psychology of religion;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rel11110563

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Poor health often motivates people to engage in religious and spiritual approaches to healing. However, there is limited research on such experiences from a northern European perspective. This article investigates healing experiences related to Christian faith and practices in Norway by thematic analysis of 25 semi-structured interviews with individuals who have experienced healing of different ailments. In so doing, healing events across diverse contexts are characterised, and the results show that such experiences not only feature practices in which other people are present in prayer, preaching, and the laying on of hands, but also spontaneous extraordinary encounters with a divine being through visions and voices. The healing events are further described as experiences of transformational, powerful touch. In light of the lived body theory, these transformational experiences can be understood as re-inscriptions of health that are manifested in the intertwined bio–psycho–social–spiritual aspects of the body.

【 授权许可】

Unknown